As goes with all creative works, there’s nothing new under the sun. At least that’s what they say.

Video games are no different. How many times have you played a game and asked “haven’t I done this somewhere before?” And the chances are you probably have. A lot of great ideas are recycled again and again for countless reasons (mostly due to marketing, of course).

While some of these games parallel their respective host title, several actually managed to break away, finding their own success and developing an individual following, sometimes even overshadowing their doppelgangers.

And others—well—others sucked. Big time.

Of course, it’s likely most of these similarities are coincidental, but in a few they definitely are not. Still, here’s my list of the best of the best when it comes to video game clones.

10.) Silent Hill/Resident Evil

Granted, a lot of people might flip on me for this one, and honestly I can’t blame them.

Resident Evil and Silent Hill are two very different games in a lot of ways—pre-rendered vs. full-3d, variations in art direction, etc. Still, there’s no denying that upon its release Silent Hill was instantly sized-up to Resident Evil.

Why? Probably because at the time Resident Evil was one of the few survival-horror games out there worth playing—let alone one of the few anyone even knew about. Both games depend upon an intriguing storyline, godawful play controls, creepy sounds/music, and puzzle-solving in order to go anywhere in the game.

Still, Silent Hill takes storyline to the next level, offering multiple endings and a cast of characters that are downright eerie. Relying more on atmosphere than jump-out-and-scare-the-shit-outta-ya tactics, Silent Hill quickly established itself as one of the best of the genre.

9.) The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess/Okami

When I first thought up this list, Okami and Twilight Princess were the first two games that came to mind. The thing is, when deciding which game ripped off the other, I really couldn’t make up my mind. See, while Okami was released first, it obviously borrows heavily from the Zelda series as far as gameplay goes. Yet, at the same time, Okami firmly plants its feet in the ground as a unique and original title.

And then there’s the whole wolf thing, but that goes without saying.

So really, I call this one a draw. Both games are awesome, and both definitely borrow one or two elements from the other.

8.) Arkanoid/Breakout

I love Breakout. Its simplistic gameplay is addictive and fun, and really, what more could one ask for?

Arkanoid answers that question with lasers, multi-ball powerups, and those Easter Island statues as boss characters (I looked it up—they’re called Moai). Arkanoid is awesome.

Atari’s Breakout hit arcades in 1976, pretty much giving Taito ten years to think up ways to improve upon the formula. They done good, they did.

Watch the following video only if you have absolutely nothing better to do.

7.) Rock Band/Guitar Hero

Guitar Hero came first. We know this.

So why is it we have two rock and roll sims out on the market (counting Konami’s Rock Revolution, two and a half ::snickers::)? Well, after Harmonix’s contract expired with RedOctane, MTV stepped in, purchased the company, and had them expand upon the Guitar Hero franchise, only under the Rock Band license. While Neversoft took the helm of Guitar Hero, and Rock Band was born, quickly finding itself to be an incredibly successful franchise.

What makes Rock Band great is the cross-compatible DLC. I’ve played both games briefly, and Rock Band’s tracklist seems to be waaaaaay more extensive than Guitar Hero’s.

If you squint, you can see they’re pretty much the same damn thing.

6.) Mario Paint/Microsoft Paint

While Microsoft Paint isn’t really a game, per se, everyone has played with it at some point in his or her lifetime.

And as for Mario Paint? If you’ve played it, you already know of its awesomeness. It’s sort of like Microsoft Paint on steroids, offering tons of crap to toy around with such as a music maker, an animation machine, a sweet flyswatter game, a coloring book. Hell, it even came with that awesome mouse and utterly useless mouse pad.

Damn, I love Mario Paint.

It’s just a shame that it didn’t offer a better save function. Yeah, you could save a single image, but that was pretty much it. Still, it’s pretty cool that people are still inputting tunes into the music maker (or at least emulations of it) to this day, and some of it is pretty impressive.

5.) Super 3D Noah’s Ark/Wolfenstein 3D

Easily one of my favorite stories in the industry, the tale of Super 3D Noah’s Ark is one of spite, censorship, and revenge. See, the thing about Super 3D Noah’s Ark is not that it merely replicates some of Wolfenstein’s play mechanics. Oh, no. It goes a step further. It’s the EXACT SAME GAME.

What happened was this: id Software, enraged by Nintendo’s decision to censor Wolfenstein 3D for the SNES, handed the code to developer Wisdom Tree in a sort of ironic vengeance. Of course the game bombed, and this story is likely just an urban legend. Still, there’s no denying—the games are identical.

What really makes this game great is how the cart itself works a lot like an old Game Genie, needing another Nintendo licensed cart to work.

While it lacks the Nazis and the guns and the violence of Wolfenstein 3D, Super 3D Noah’s Ark definitely belongs on this list, if not for its comedic value alone.

4.) Counter-Strike/Half-Life

Okay, so technically Counter-Strike is a Half-Life mod, but it still makes this list for two reasons:

1. The mod wasn’t made by Valve employees (though Valve quickly hired both of the mod’s creators).
2. The fact that Counter-Strike developed its own following, breaking away from a first-glance association with Half-Life, warrants its right as its own game (in my opinion, anyway).

I’m not much of a PC gamer, but I’ve heard a lot about Counter-Strike. People love it, and to develop that sort of cult following behind a mod—well—that deserves at least some recognition.

Apparently it’s also been used by the Chinese police as a training tool. Neat!

3.) Ninja Gaiden/Castlevania

This is one I’ve really never been able to let go. Ninja Gaiden is one of the first games I’ve ever played. So upon realizing just how many elements it steals from Castlevania—well—I just had to look into it further.

Just look at the screenshots below:

Simply put, Ninja Gaiden is Castlevania with ninjas.

Thankfully the series was strong enough to run its own path, spawning plenty of quality sequels and providing a level of difficulty that Castlevania could never compare to. Ninja Gaiden is a bitch, but I love it.

2.) Castlevania: Symphony of the Night/Super Metroid

How does a company take an already well-established franchise and make it fresh again? Konami’s suggestion—do what Nintendo does. It’s kind of funny how that seems to hold true even today.

SotN takes all the best of a Castlevania game and melds it with the ingredients of one of the greatest platformers on the SNES OF ALL TIME.

• Melodic and haunting soundtrack? (Check)
• Expansive map with plenty of room for exploration? (Check)
• Badass protagonist? (Check)
• Plenty of items and objects to uncover and use to build up your character? (Double check)

SotN is creative piracy at its best. Not to mention it has some of the strangest bosses I’ve ever seen.

1.) Grand Theft Auto III/Driver 2

Hey! Remember when Driver 2 was fun? Yeah, that was great. Well, it was great until a little game called Grand Theft Auto III hit the shelves.

Taking all the things people wanted to do in Driver 2 and making them happen, GTA III granted gamers the freedom they’d desired for ages. Sure, mounds of controversy flared in the media because of it, but hell, who cares? GTA III is awesome, even today. Sure, it doesn’t quite live up to the quality of some of its sequels, but the impact it had on the industry itself is unquestionable. The reason this makes my number one is simply because of how thoroughly GTA III blew Driver 2 out of the water.

Where is Driver 2 now? I wouldn’t know, because after playing GTA III, I never felt the need to buy it.

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